Aerobic Exercises, popularly known as cardio, includes cardio machines, spinning, running, swimming, walking, hiking, aerobics classes, dancing, cross country skiing, and kickboxing. Any person who is fit in cardio is also usually fit muscularly.
What do you Mean By Aerobic / Cardio Training?
I’m sure you would have heard physical trainers, doctors, medical experts recommending cardio exercises and how important it is to include them in your physical training routine.
But what exactly is cardio training?
Cardio (short for cardiovascular) exercise means any form of exercise that involves rigorous movement of your body in a rhythmic uninterrupted way (preferably done for around 45 to 60 minutes.)
It is any activity that raises your heart rate. Cardio vascular exercises strengthen our muscles, delivering more oxygen to the cells in our body, thus enabling the cells to burn fat during activity and otherwise.
Running, Cycling, Swimming, Walking fast, Dancing, etc. are all cardiovascular workouts.
Aerobic literally means in the presence of ‘air’ or ‘oxygen’ (O2). It refers to the use of oxygen to meet the energy demands during exercise via aerobic metabolism.
Aerobic exercises are fueled by fat reserves.
Initially during increased exertion, the muscle glycogen is broken down to produce glucose, which then reacts with oxygen to produce carbon dioxide (CO2) and water, and release ATPs (energy).
If in case, there is shortage of oxygen (anaerobic exercise or explosive movement) then this glucose in the absence of oxygen gets fermented into lactic acid. This quick build-up of lactic acid makes it impossible to continue the activity.
Types of Aerobic Exercises
- Low-impact aerobic exercises
One foot is constantly in touch with the stable surface or one foot faces the impact all the time.
Example: Low impact aerobic dancing, all cardio equipment except treadmill.
- High Impact Aerobic Activities
Both the feet are of the ground or both the feet experience the impact at the same time.
Example: Skipping, Sprinting, Jumping, Trampoline & High impact aerobic dancing.
- Minimal impact aerobic activity Activities which place minimal impact on the spine and other joints. Example: Aqua Aerobics, Swimming
Benefits of Aeorbic Activity
Here are some of the important benefits of Aerobic Activity:- Strengthening the muscles involved in respiration.
- Strengthening and enlarging the heart muscle to improve its pumping efficiency & improve the resting heart rate, also known as aerobic conditioning (Resting heart rate – RHR is the indicator of performance of heart)
- Happy state of mind, improves mental health, reduces stress levels, lowers depression, improves memory, increases cognitive capacity. Increases the total number of RBCs in the body, which leads to efficient transport of oxygen within the body.
- Reduces incidents of diseases like heart disease, diabetes and blood pressure. Good for your heart and lungs,
- Improves Blood circulation. Aerobic exercises reduce the risk of death due to cardio vascular problems
- High impact aerobic activities like jogging, skipping, can stimulate growth
- Also reduces the risk of osteoporosis in men/women
- It increases stamina and endurance
Popular & Effective Aerobic Activities and Exercises
- Running
Running is the best cardio exercise, not only for your belly fat but also for your complete body. It is strenuous, yet very simple to do. You can also do it indoors on a treadmill or outside. Running helps your abs immensely. If you place a hand on your abdomen while running, you will realize that it is hard. For better results, you can also add sprinting along with it. So, put on your best running shoes and run to get a flat ,well toned abdomen.
- Cycling
Cycling is another form of cardio exercise which work wonders to reduce belly fat. Once again, you either do it indoors or outdoors. In the indoors cycle, you may want to remove the back rest so that the intensity of the exercise is good. It works well to reduce belly fat and also your leg muscles.
- Swimming
Have you ever noticed how well toned and healthy all the professional swimmer’s body look? Well, not surprising though because swimming is not only a full body workout but it also increases the stamina of the swimmer. While you are swimming, you are building your muscle tissue which helps in burning fat.
- Walking
Walking is the simplest cardio activities. You can walk at a brisk pace which will help you burn fat. Try walking uphill for a more intensive walk.
- Exercise in the Gym
Some of you may prefer to go to the gym for cardio exercises. Over there you will have professionals who will recommend your exercises. Running on the treadmill, spot cycling, Stair climber etc are some of the great cardio exercises you can try out.
Here are some suggestions to make your cardiovascular training exercises more interesting.
Spartan Run
For those of you that want to add some strength training to your running routine then the Spartan Run will be push you hard.
- Run 1 mile
- 100 pushups
- 100 situps
- Run 1 mile
- 75 pushups
- 75 situps
- Run 1 mile
- 50 push ups
- 50 sits up
Talk about hard work!!!!
12 Minute Drill
I used to do this drill on a track when I was training for soccer. It’s a good mix of running and sprinting.
- Run 1 minute
- Sprint as fast as your can 1 minute
- Continue until you get to 12 minutes
Too quick? Try turning it into a 24 minute drill.
Hill Running
Find a nice hill in your area. Run or sprint up it and then walk or jog back down the hill. The longer the hill the better! Repeat until the desired time has reached.
7-Minute Sprint Drill
This is another fun drill I used to do when I trained for soccer. Find a distance of about 25-30 feet wide. I used to find two trees about this distance apart as markers.
- Sprint across, walk back
- Sprint across and back (twice), walk back
- Sprint across three times, walk back
Do this all the way up to 7 sprints across and a final walk. Combine this with the 12 Minute Drill and you’ll be exhausted.
Run, Climb, Crunch Drill
If you have a field near you with a track and stadium this is great for training.
- Run 1 mile
- Climb up and down the stairs for 2 minutes
- Crunches 2 minutes
Run through this 3 times and you’ll have gotten a great workout.
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